How Can Rape Hapen?

The era surrounding World War I and World War II was full of death and controversy. Death was in the millions and social treatment of others was the topic of the hour. Jews were persecuted simply for their heritage and invading forces lay waste to whole villages and community/social structures. One way in which an invading force destroyed a community was by sexually assaulting the women and girls of the town. This example of social control is perfectly described in the book A Woman in Berlin (2005). The piece itself is a journal collection written by an anonymous middle aged female, during the siege of Berlin by the Russian troops. The journal speaks about a two month period in which Russian forces controlled the district of Berlin where the author lived. She details the siege and the change in demeanor of the small community in which she lived, once the Russians had arrived. Woman and girls no longer dared to venture outside due to the fear of being raped by a Russian soldier. The men and boys stayed inside hidden, unable to protect the feminine population, due to the fear of being killed.

The author alone lives through horrendous encounters with numerous Russians. She is raped once in stairwell and then is continually raped in her apartment. At first she is raped by various different men, but she eventually (in her mind) finds a way of protection and survival. She decides to find a Russian officer to call her own, in hopes that she will become taboo to all other soldiers and will be taken care by this one officer. The author was not in search of love or a relationship; she was merely hoping to only be raped by one man, to gain some sense of security out of the tragedy. In the end, the author does find officers to take care of her and is able accept the situation for what it was, a terrifying two months of survival. Therefore this book demonstrates how rape is possible in a modern society and how rape victims cope with and come to terms with the crime.

The culture and social structure that was Berlin during World War II, was not exactly an egalitarian society. Women and men did not share gender roles, in fact men did none of the housework or cooking, and women rarely held professional positions. Because of the nature of the society and the ruling force of the invading Russians, this allowed for rape to be used as a control technique by the Russians. The concept of lower standards of female treatment in relation to the social equality of the society is well document in Patricia Draper’s !Kung Women: Contrasts in Sexual Egalitarianism in Foraging and Sedentary Contexts (1975). In the article Draper (1975) studies two groups of the !Kung, a hunting and gathering society and a sedentary society. She illustrates how in the foraging group there are more equal workloads between men and women, and the less of a separation of gender roles, that overall this lead to a lower rate of male to female violence. But in the sedentary lifestyle, there was a larger separation of gender roles and an increase in violent behavior. What this means is that a society which does not draw the lines of gender roles, will have less interpersonal violence.

Another reason as to why rape is possible in a modern society is the objectification of women. In A Woman in Berlin (2005) the Russian soldiers view the German women as objects to be had for the taking. These men had not seen or had the chance to hold women in quite some time, and each was determined to do just that. Also through the objectification and rape, the Russians knew they would control the female population. The ways in which female objectification is possible is detailed in The Devaluation Process by Edwin Schur. Schur explains that women are easily objectified in society due to the following: If all women seen as being the same and are viewed as a non-person, with the only tie to society being their male counterparts, then women are easily turned into simple objects or are seen only as body parts and not a human being. In a patriarchal society the men hold all the power and are able to devalue women into pieces and puppets to be used at their dispense. This will lead to higher rates of male to female violence, and in this specific case rape.

Not only did rape occur between one male and one female, but in this two month period there were numerous accounts of gang rape. In these instances between two and five men would all gang up on one female and take turns sexually assaulting her and watching the other men assault her. This gang rape is a form of male bonding, in which men show other men just how masculine and manly they can be. This process of proving your manhood is important and is shown in Taking the Field (2002) by Michael Messner. Messner (2002) gives the example of a gang rape performed by a group of high school males on a mentally handicapped girl. Messner explains how each boy involved took joy in proving themselves, and how at the end of the rape each came together in a ritualistic circle to show their over powering manhood. This concept of males needing to prove their manhood to other males explains how gang rape and other forms of rape are able to occur, and how the raping in Berlin was seen as socially acceptable to the Russian soldiers.

Adult women were not the only rape victims during this two month siege of Berlin. Young girls were also highly sought after by the Russian forces. These virgins were a prize to be had in the eyes of rapist and the men would do anything to find them. But why would a grown man want to be sexually involved with a child. Kathleen Kendall-Tackett and Roberta Marshall touch briefly on this in Sexual Victimization of Children (1998). Kendall-Tackett and Marshall (1998) explain that a grown man may choose to sexually victimize a child for a few reasons; one of the main ones being that a child is much easier to control. By control, Kendall-Tackett and Marshall mean by physical control and mental control. Because a child has less physical strength it is much harder for he or she to fight back and because their judgment and decision making skill are still developing the child is easier to persuade. Because of the ability of control a Russian soldier would have been more apt to pursue a female child over an adult woman.

Not only does the book A Woman in Berlin (2005) detail how rape can happen in a society it also documents how women deal and cope with the victimization